Recommendation for very strong UHF signal

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Will62

SatelliteGuys Family
Original poster
May 20, 2011
65
21
Missouri
I am in the process of buying a home in a small town in Iowa. I did a Signal Analysis and noted a PBS translator in town is probably going to cause problems with out of town reception since I will need a pre amp to obtain most of the other signals that I would watch.

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Note the Ch. 28 power at the top of the list is the issue. I am wondering if I should buy a Notch Filter like this which will attenuate the signal by 25db.

Amazon product ASIN B072K6BNP1
View: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072K6BNP1/?coliid=IZED7P7DEE5B5&colid=3O2PB0XPYIL0T&psc=0&ref_=list_c_wl_lv_ov_lig_dp_it
Or should I consider a single channel trap from a company like Tin Lee to completely eradicate just Ch. 28 allowing no possibility of interference to any of the other signals. If Tin Lee's option is best, which specific model do I need? Noted a couple would possibly work but I don't h ave any experience with their products.
 
Thought of one more thing. For a couple of very weak signals in Keokuk (Ch. 14) and (Ch. 17) in Quincy, I was thinking that ganging a couple of UHF antennas might bring them in. A decade ago I lived outside of Kansas City and a Antennacraft HBU 55 on my roof was able to reliable catch two UHF signals that were just as weak as these even though I had trees nearby and a small hill terrain toward the direction of the towers. Using a good pre amp certainly helped. Any thoughts?
 
Mike. This appears to be overkill for my application. I am planning to use a rotor and will only feed one TV. But the bigger issue is the need to significantly reduce or eliminate the Ch. 28 signal. Just how much signal strength will this reduce with Ch. 28? It's not clear to me in the instructions.
 
Will62 said:
Mike. This appears to be overkill for my application. I am planning to use a rotor and will only feed one TV. But the bigger issue is the need to significantly reduce or eliminate the Ch. 28 signal. Just how much signal strength will this reduce with Ch. 28? It's not clear to me in the instructions.
Click to expand...
You don't need a rotor with the Smartkom, it combines multiple fixed direction antennas, levels the signals, OR you can completely eliminate a channel, or move it to another one of the antennas pointed away from it, so the signal is lower.

With this, you don't need to rescan all the time like you would using a rotor. Rotators are 1970's technology, they don't fix in a digital world.


View: https://youtu.be/ZxquKMAq4c0


View: https://youtu.be/zvpW6-N0ICA
 
Mike. I will consider it but bear in mind I like to DX. A rotor is far more effective for aiming for the strongest signal than a fixed antenna when you have a swarm of stations coming in some nights from a variety of directions. If I decide to put up two antennas to feed two TV's then this may be a worthy option. But for the rotor application a Notch Filter seems prudent.

I should add that I currently own three rotors and they all work fine. Ditching them and spending $200 for the SmartKom doesn't seem all that wise when my older technology will do what I need it to do. It won't require a cell phone or computer to operate either. This appears to be a gadget developed for tech people that like to enjoy messing with new technology. I already do some of that with my work in radio and my two small radio stations. After watching the video I don't see any real advantage to using the SmartKom for my situation especially when my older but reliable technology functions fine and will achieve my objectives.

One other important factor that comes into play. There have been times where if I didn't have a rotor to fine tune a channel, I would not get the best signal because multipath would impact the signal at different times of the year. When I lived in a suburb of Cincinnati this was the most recent case. Thus, if I aimed my rotor at 5 degrees for a channel in the Winter, by Spring, due to leaves on trees or some other issue such as a new taller structure going up nearby, I had to re aim the rotor a few degrees to insure I would still be able to get the best watchable signal. Fixed antennas do not allow for this and I don't want to be outside having to fine tune fixed antennas at different times of the year if possible.
 
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Back to this topic. I purchased the home and have had a chance to test a couple of antennas on the property. More precise location for the search results now that I know where the antenna will be installed.


The good news is that I am able to receive KHQA-WGEM-KTVO and believe it or not, KYOU-DT, not the translator in Kirksville. Using a Super G 1483 along with the Televes pre amp and it seem adequate for these stations. Not sure that K14SU-D will be obtainable except when conditions are right or W17EH-D for the same reasons. Can test different spots on the property with different antennas in the future.

Here is the issue. KHQA is coming in better off the back side of the 8 bay than the front. WGEM to a lesser degree. Believe it is due to K28JD-D being nearby and overloading the tuner. Tin Lee quoted a price of $350 for a trap and I cannot spend that kind of money for that right now.

KYOU and KTVO do not seem to be impacted by the strong signal on Ch. 28. Different direction for the signals.

Questions.

1). I don't want to use the Super G 1483 here because there is a large tree above that sheds branches. This antenna is irreplaceable and I may be able to use it elsewhere on the property or in the future. Which 8 bay is going to be best at dealing with the issue with Ch. 28? I noted I can find a Antennacraft U8000 which is still available at one company and of course the Channel Master 4228HD is readily available. Wondering if the new Blue Sky 8 bay might be comparable?

2). Are there any other Notch Filters or traps that I can purchase to at least reduce the signal strength of Ch.28?
 
At 4 1/2 miles that station is probably not going to overload your tuner. It is only broadcasting at 15 KW
 
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I can't figure out why Ch. 7 comes in better with less breakup off the backside of the Super G 1483. Figured it was Ch. 28 being nearby.

Need to figure out a suitable replacement for the Super G 1483 then.
 
Will62 said:
I can't figure out why Ch. 7 comes in better with less breakup off the backside of the Super G 1483. Figured it was Ch. 28 being nearby.

Need to figure out a suitable replacement for the Super G 1483 then.
Click to expand...
YAG! - The antenna's backbone is doing the VHF reception not the UHF elements which may partially block the signal from the front.
 
This is strange. Just checked the FCC website and noted KHQA does seem to be on UHF Ch. 22 now. But you are correct about WGEM being on Ch. 10. Saw this on the DTV Reception Maps site.

Fortunately I have a few VHF antennas and I will start trying those to see how well they do.
 
The FCC site has WGEM now using Ch. 22. Only way to find out is to use a tuner that shows the actual frequency of the channel. I have a DTV box that may be able to help. Will try that out.
 
Will62 said:
Mike. I will consider it but bear in mind I like to DX. A rotor is far more effective for aiming for the strongest signal than a fixed antenna when you have a swarm of stations coming in some nights from a variety of directions. If I decide to put up two antennas to feed two TV's then this may be a worthy option. But for the rotor application a Notch Filter seems prudent.

I should add that I currently own three rotors and they all work fine. Ditching them and spending $200 for the SmartKom doesn't seem all that wise when my older technology will do what I need it to do. It won't require a cell phone or computer to operate either. This appears to be a gadget developed for tech people that like to enjoy messing with new technology. I already do some of that with my work in radio and my two small radio stations. After watching the video I don't see any real advantage to using the SmartKom for my situation especially when my older but reliable technology functions fine and will achieve my objectives.

One other important factor that comes into play. There have been times where if I didn't have a rotor to fine tune a channel, I would not get the best signal because multipath would impact the signal at different times of the year. When I lived in a suburb of Cincinnati this was the most recent case. Thus, if I aimed my rotor at 5 degrees for a channel in the Winter, by Spring, due to leaves on trees or some other issue such as a new taller structure going up nearby, I had to re aim the rotor a few degrees to insure I would still be able to get the best watchable signal. Fixed antennas do not allow for this and I don't want to be outside having to fine tune fixed antennas at different times of the year if possible.
Click to expand...
If you use 3 antennae and have 3 rotators, why not use something like the smartkom and put each on a rotor for occasional fine-tuning?
 

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